Images_May_2020_Digital_Edition

STEP-BY-STEP: HOW TOMAKE A PERSONALISED DOOR SIGN 2 To avoid leaving burn marks around the cut line, it helps to cover the entire sheet on both sides with adhesive masking tape 5 Position your pieces on the bed of the UV printer, which in this step-by-step is a Roland VersaUV LEF2- 300 UV printer. For better accuracy, we masked the bed of the printer with the same tape and printed a fast draft directly onto it. Once complete, it was a simple matter of lining up the pieces with the printed draft Place the masked sheet on the bed of the laser cutter and calibrate the laser focus to set the correct distance from the laser to the material. Once you’ve configured the laser cutter (I used a Roland LV-290 laser cutter/ engraver here), it will finish the job in no time 3 We used special inks in this design: the white ink gives the wood a brighter base coat, which adds vibrancy to the CMYK inks once printed. 6 First, design your sign using your preferred software. As we will be cutting and printing from the same file, the artwork also contains the cut line for the laser. We’ve also added a white ink layer and some clear ink embellishments 1 Now that the pieces have been cut out, you can remove the masking tape from both sides 4 8 Now it’s time to put it all together. We cut an additional piece of MDF to place between the ‘F’ and the football and boots section so as to give the finished article more depth. Stick the pieces together using glue (PVA glue works well) or double-sided tape. Be aware that UV ink can have non-stick properties with certain adhesives, so it pays to have a plan B at the ready Once the glue is dry, the sign is ready to go. There are several options for this, including picture hooks or sticky foam pads. Some of these methods are faster than others, and some don’t mark the door as much – so choose whichever one works best for you 9 Clear ink adds some eye-catching highlights to the finished article. A simple addition like this gives any product a more premium feel and can be used in many different ways 7 www.images-magazine.com TIPS & TECHNIQUES MAY 2020 images 35